Men's Lacrosse: J.B. Clarke named new head coach at Limestone College

Gaffney, SC – Limestone College Director of Athletics Mike Cerino has named J.B. Clarke as the new head coach of the Saints men's lacrosse team. Clarke becomes the fifth coach in the 21-year history of the program replacing Cerino, who relinquished his coaching duties to focus his attention on administering an expanding athletics department.

Clarke comes to Limestone after a 12-year tenure as the head coach and assistant director of athletics at Washington College, where he guided the Shoremen to a combined 138-63 (.687) overall record. In that time, he reached 100 wins faster than any coach in Washington College history. Under his leadership, the Shoremen appeared in the NCAA Division III Tournament seven times and reached the Centennial Conference Championship in eight consecutive seasons. Clarke mentored 28 United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) All-Americans and 78 All-Centennial Conference honorees while in Chestertown.

“My family and I are excited to be joining the Limestone College community,” said Clarke. “For more than a decade I have seen Coach Cerino, President (Walt) Griffin and many great players create one of the most successful lacrosse programs in the nation. Under the leadership of Dr. Griffin, Limestone College has become one of the premier liberal arts colleges in the country. With Coach Cerino at the helm of the athletics program, we have seen conference and national championships become synonymous with the Saints lacrosse team. It is quite an honor to be given the responsibility of head coach from Saints Athletic Director Mike Cerino. He is a remarkable leader and I look forward to working with him as he enters a new chapter in his career.”

Clarke expanded on his immediate plans, saying, “Later this week I will be meeting more of the faculty and staff and am excited to work with the admissions team to begin putting our first recruiting class together. I can't wait to meet the team, create lasting friendships with our alumni, and continue to build the outstanding legacy that is Limestone College Lacrosse.” He continued, “I would also like to thank Washington College for a wonderful 12 years and I look forward to watching their continued success in the future.”

Prior to his stint in Chestertown, Clarke worked for Dave Cottle at Division I Loyola College in Baltimore, Md. With Clarke serving as the offensive coordinator, the Greyhounds reached the NCAA Division I semifinal and finished the 1998 season ranked number two in the nation.

Before his position at Loyola, Clarke served for one season as the head lacrosse coach at Greensboro College in North Carolina. During the 1997 season, he turned a 3-9 record from the previous year into a 9-5 mark and a Top 20 Division III national ranking.

Clarke held the offensive coordinator position at Duke University for four years, from 1992-1996. During his time in Durham, the Blue Devils won an ACC Championship (1995) and appeared in the NCAA Division I Tournament twice (1994, 1995), recording the University’s first win in ’94 against Maryland, 14-9.

Clarke's college coaching stops as an assistant were at Ohio State University and at Roanoke College (Salem, Va.) With Roanoke, Clarke helped the Maroons reach the NCAA Division III National Championship during the 1992 campaign.

Currently, Coach Clarke serves on the Intercollegiate Men’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IMLCA) Board of Directors and over his career has been a member of the USILA Division III All-America Committee, the USILA National Poll Committee and US National Team Selection Committee.

Coach Clarke will inherit a Saints team which went 12-2 overall and undefeated in the South Region during the 2010 season. Limestone has made 11 consecutive NCAA Division II Tournament appearances, the second most all-time in Division II.

In making the announcement, Cerino noted, "I am thrilled to have someone of Coach Clarke's pedigree to become our next leader of Limestone men's lacrosse. J.B. has an extensive background coaching at the highest levels of the game and I feel he is the perfect person to sustain Limestone as an elite program."

Limestone College is a four-year, liberal arts institution in Gaffney, SC. Established in 1845, Limestone offers bachelor of arts, bachelor of science, bachelor of social work, associate of arts, and associate of science degrees through traditional and non-traditional educational opportunities.